You Drive Me Wild

This year is going to be filled with concerts, shows, and new music (You should test drive some of my suggestions this week).

I've spent a lot of time with my sister in Austin this past month. It's been a blessing. Great food, great music, and family are a pretty good combination for me. It's looking like I will be in Austin all of spring break for sxsw. Sam and I won some pretty sweet tickets to an exclusive Kills party (I actually have an extra spot ;). That will kick off a week of seeing some cool bands and checking out the new Third Man Records Rolling Record Store.

Ahhhhh...yeahhhh...but let's get to what I really wanna talk about.

Rock N' Roll is an interesting thing. A niche dominated by males. I used to be pretty closed-minded about women in rock bands. They generally don't have the typically masculine traits that make rock...rock, but these next examples are great exceptions. Exceptions so great...I'm obsessed. 

1. Lindsay “Coco” Hames of The Ettes

With a voice that sounds like she breathes in helium on a regular basis, Coco rocks out on guitar and tambourine for The Ettes. I saw the Ettes for the first time at House of Blues in Houston and then later at Third Man in Nashville. Although the first night was not full of memories I care to remember, I remember the Ettes. I don't usually fall in love with a band by hearing them live first, but I did here. Coco combined with an incredible drummer Maria “Poni” Silver and and maybe the most talented of them all, bassman Jeremy “Jem” Cohen, make for a killer rock band currently based in Nashville.

The Ettes

(Not a bad opener for The Dead Weather)

2. Joan Jett of The Blackhearts

Where to start with Joan Jett? How about the killer last name Jett? Not a bad start for a girl rocker. I became more infatuated with her music after seeing the movie "The Runaways" based on her. She's the original basically. Her bold tenacity is what sells her music.

Her music is pretty sick. Wish I could have seen her way back when...

(Not Joan Jett, Actors from Runaways)

By the way, The Runaways is a must see movie. Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart give great performances. Get a lil' Rock N' Roll education. Last and most obsessed with...

3. Allison Mosshart of The Kills and The Dead Weather

Allison is a combination of the first two girls. She can remind you she's just a girl, just like Coco, but then keeps on you on your toes by making sure you know she's not to be screwed around with. She gives some of the best live performances you will see for The Dead Weather, physically exhausting herself. She doesn't have a problem getting her emotion across. She's basically scary...scary good. 

She might as well be made of leather and cigarettes. 

Ya, she'll be dead in 10 years unfortunately. Crazy Chain Smoker.

She'll Rock your face off.

She's usually surrounded by men

Seeing them 3 or 4 times in the next month.

Lastly, if you ever run into Alison, don't mess around with this chick.

From the Treat Me Like Your Mother music video

She's a talented musician to say the least and very attractive, good things to have in her position.

All my music suggestions are either from these artists or are from who I will see at sxsw this year.

PEACE.

Yearnin'

I decided today that I want to make a lot of money. This may be shallow, but that's just fine by me. I want enough money to have a big family and afford it. I don't know what my childhood or life would look like without all my brothers and sisters. My parents have certainly paid for having such a number of children with lots of hard work. So ya...I wanna work really hard and make enough money to have a family that doesn't want. My suite mate has a pretty cool view too. He wants to make enough money to fund his own missionary operation. I think that's awesome. I think God gave us money as a tool. If you aren't attached to your money, then there is no problem with wanting a bigger tool.

I discovered my English teacher is an alcoholic yesterday. This is only my hypothesis...but I feel like I am usually right. A couple of months ago he mentioned that his grandfather was an alcoholic and said alcoholism was hereditary. That didn't sell me, but yesterday he stopped in his lecture and started talking about confessional poetry. He talked about how it is therapeutic for some to get things out in the open to strangers. That's when I realized that's what he does when he comes to class. The little off subject stories he tells are him using the class as his medium of confession. This and other factors have convinced me he is a current or recovering alcoholic. 

The most interesting thing he has said in class is about the draft. He doesn't think the draft will come back because of women. He's right. The draft was pre women's rights movement. If they brought it back now then technically women should have just as much of a right to be drafted as men. There would be uproar over this. It will never come back. It's ironic when you dwell on it...

Today was one of the worst days I've had in quite a while. It did not feel lonely but rather was filled with sadness, coldness, and darkness. It reminded me why I am attached to blues music so much. It doesn't pick you up. It relates. Everyone is searching for a relation with another human, and blues music relates on a deep level saying "hey I've gone through rough times too." 

You fell down of course
and then you got up of course
and you started over
forgot my name of course
then you started to remember
pretty tough to think about
the beginning of december
pretty tough to think about